Video footage shows rescue services novel use of MEWP and abseiling

It has been reported by the NorwichEvening Newsthat a scaffolder was taken to hospital with chest pains after he fell 3m from a church tower and landed on a roof.

A paramedic needed abseil 40ft with the workman man on a stretcher before he could be lowered to safety on a MEWP in the three-hour rescue.

Phil Berry Fire Station Manager, said:

“It was a truly technical rescue. It was very complex because of the problem of working at such a height and having to bring the casualty down. The rescue went very smoothly. We are trained to work in all environments – we were just doing our job. You don’t see this every day – we will use this as an example to train people in the future.”

A spokesman from the East of England ambulance service said:

“This was a very complicated operation due to the difficult location but our crews worked fantastically well with the other emergency services for the benefit of the patient, making sure he was well looked after throughout and treated by paramedics in situ before being carefully brought to safety so that treatment could continue at hospital.